Sometimes I get discouraged watching the news. Recent events can make it difficult to want to face what is happening in this broken world, but God calls us to go into the dark places in order to be a light to those in the midst of turmoil.

This upcoming week I will be heading to Houston alongside our short-term ministries coordinator to serve alongside Trinity School for Ministry students. We will be heading to the southeastern part of the city to do relief effort from Hurricane Harvey. Houston is the 4th largest city in America, with a population of over 2 million. In the southeastern part alone there are over 15,000 people. These people have lost everything. Their homes destroyed, and their belongings swept away with the water. SAMS has helped with the training to prepare for this mission. We will be partnering with Christ Church Plano and Missio Dei Anglican Church in Houston to help restore the homes of those in the neighborhood. The training consisted of team building, logistics, team roles, and spiritual development. While at the training, the team had a surprise visit from Archbishop Foley Beach from the Anglican Church in North America. He prayed with us and for all the people we will serve.

One thing that kept coming to me and the rest of the team was the word “presence.” Will you join me in praying for this mission? How might we be encouraged to bring God’s presence no matter where we go? I pray His presence will be overflowing and those who have felt nothing but loss soon feel the comfort and hope of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Hurricane Harvey has already displaced thousands in south Texas and Louisiana, and the rains and flooding are expected to continue throughout the week to come. Archbishop Beach is calling the Church to pray, give, and prepare.

Meteorologists are warning that while the winds have now died down, the greater danger could come from the continual rain that the region will receive.

Bishop Clark Lowenfield and The Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast are based in Houston, Texas and will be coordinating the relief effort among Anglicans in the region. Bishop Lowenfield, who was forced to evacuate his home yesterday, said, “Thank you to all those who have been offering their prayers and expressing their concern to us. The impact of Harvey is already evident, and we are being told to expect days more of rain and ‘catastrophic flooding’. In the Houston area in particular, the devastation will take months if not years of recovery. Your gift to the Anglican Relief and Development Fund will mean that individuals in some of the most hard-hit areas will be able to put their lives back together once this is all over. Above all, I implore you to pray with us in this storm. As Psalm 29:10-11 tells us, ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!’”

Archbishop Beach is calling the Church to pray, give, and prepare: “Now is an important time for the Church to step forward. First and foremost, please join me in praying for the people of south Texas and Louisiana. Please pray for all those in distress, those who are being called to extraordinary acts of courage, and those who are obediently engaging in small acts of faithfulness.

Second, please consider giving so that Christians in the area will have the resources they need to show their communities the love of Christ in tangible ways. We cannot anticipate today all that will need to be done in the days ahead, but we are blessed to have churches in the region who can be the hands and feet of Christ.

Third, whether you are in Texas, Louisiana, or in the states surrounding the region, please be preparing to serve. As the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast prioritizes the needs, you will be hearing more about how you and your congregation can serve through volunteer work teams.”

Mary McDonald is a SAMS Associate Missionary and a veterinarian. Recently, SAMS caught up with Mary after her recent mission to Uganda.

SAMS: Tell us about Gospel Goats and the need you saw in Uganda.

Mary: In Uganda, there are families who have been affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Men grew up as boy soldiers and women were abducted to be wives of officers. The majority have received little education about health and nutrition and many are living with HIV. I had a call to equip and empower this marginalized group in Uganda. Gospel Goats is a revolving goat loan program that does that. We teach health, nutrition, and care for the goats which helps these marginalized families on the path to financial and food security. They are able to breed the goats and sell the offspring. With each training, we teach the Gospel and love of Christ. The first goat that is born to those who went through the training is donated back to the program. They learn that they are blessed to be a blessing.

How has Gospel Goats and an education program impacted the region?

When we surveyed the area to start Gospel Goats, there was a school across from an Islamic institute. This school hardly had pencils to work with. I went to the Bishop of N. Uganda and asked about starting a Compassion International sponsorship program at this school. So we prayed that children would be sponsored, and in the first year, we had 200 students sponsored by our church in Virginia. When I returned this year, there were 115 more students sponsored. I discovered that people were taking their children out of the Islamic institute and bringing them to the school. The pastor and volunteers said that Compassion International paired with Gospel Goats has helped stop the spread of radical Islam in the area.

How have you seen God at work through the people in Uganda?

With each Gospel Goat training, we do a clear sharing of the Gospel story. At the end, we ask if anyone would like to receive Christ. At the last training, 15 people prayed to accept Christ. 150 people between the two projects have received Christ, including 5 Muslims. One individual told me that they have felt like the poorest in the community, but because of the gift of a goat they feel like God cares about them and that God is a living and tangible God who cares for both their physical and spiritual needs.

How can people who want to help get involved?

There are already many refugees in Uganda streaming in from the civil war in South Sudan. Now this region is facing an extreme drought and famine. In Uganda, families are losing their crops and livestock. This week, I received a letter from Bishop Johnson writing:

A humanitarian crisis is at our doors. We are trying to share the little we can but both the refugees and the host communities are facing starvation due to prolonged drought and the leading to a shortage of food. As a diocese, we are appealing to whoever can help us to support the refugees to do so now. Thank you for making the appeal on our behalf.

Please pray for the people in Uganda and all of Africa. Please give so others may live. Go to donate go to the SAMS-USA World Relief Fund and designate the country of Uganda in the comment box
or by check to P.O. Box 399 Ambridge, PA 15003.